Impacted wisdom teeth
An impacted wisdom tooth is one that can't come through properly, often because there isn't enough room. Food and bacteria can get trapped around it, causing decay, gum disease or an infection of the gum around it (pericoronitis). Taking it out is usually a surgical removal, and it's the one kind that gets 20% tax relief.
Stuck without room to come through: the problems, the removal and the relief.
Free to send, no obligation. One registered dentist rings you, not five.
- No roomthe usual reason a tooth is stuck
- X-rayshows how it sits
- €250–€420a surgical removal, per tooth
- 20%tax relief
The problems it can cause
- Decay and gum disease, from food and bacteria trapped around the tooth.
- Pericoronitis: an infection of the soft tissue around the tooth.
- Cellulitis: a bacterial infection in the cheek, tongue or throat.
- An abscess: a collection of pus in the tooth or the tissue around it.
- A cyst, very rarely, around a tooth that hasn't come through.
Many of these problems are treated first with antiseptic mouthwash and antibiotics. Removal comes in if they don't work. The HSE's guide has more.
Check what your removal involves
Four quick taps. You see the likely type of removal, the likely cost, the tax relief and your recovery time. Your number is only asked for at the end, if you want an assessment.
Say one lower wisdom tooth is stuck under the gum: that's usually a surgical removal, typically €250 to €420 at Irish practices, plus €50 to €83 for the x-ray, with 20% tax relief back.
How this is worked out
The likely type of removal comes from what you tell us: a tooth that's stuck under the gum, or partly through in the lower jaw, usually needs a small cut in the gum; one that's through and easy to reach usually comes out whole. The prices are the range Irish dental practices publish for a wisdom tooth, per tooth, plus a panoramic x-ray and, if you pick it, IV sedation. Tax relief is 20% of the removal when it's a surgical extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth. The recovery times are the HSE's. It's a guide to plan with, never a diagnosis or a quote: the dentist decides after an examination and an x-ray.
How it's found and removed
A panoramic x-ray shows how the tooth sits. Then it's usually a surgical removal: a small cut in the gum, sometimes a little bone removed or the tooth in pieces. After the x-ray, your dentist may refer you to a specialist oral surgeon. What a surgical removal involves.
The money
A surgical removal is typically €250 to €420 a tooth at Irish practices. Only a surgical extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth gets tax relief: 20% of the cost. A routine extraction gets none. Your dentist fills in a Med 2 form, you keep it, and you claim under the Non-Routine heading of your health expenses.
Questions people ask
What is an impacted wisdom tooth?
One that can't come through properly, often because there isn't enough room.
Does an impacted wisdom tooth always need to come out?
Not always. Many problems are treated first with antiseptic mouthwash and antibiotics, and removal comes in if they don't work. Your dentist advises on your own tooth.
Is there tax relief for impacted wisdom teeth?
Yes. A surgical extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth gets relief at 20%, with a Med 2 from your dentist.
Check what your removal involves
Four taps to the likely type, cost and recovery, then one Dental Council registered dentist or oral surgeon who covers your county rings you.